[JURIST] The Supreme Court of India [official website] on Tuesday reversed [judgment, PDF] a lower court ruling that blocked enforcement of a 2003 law [text, PDF] regulating the promotion of tobacco products. The 2003 law requires shops that sell tobacco to display health warnings and limit the size of advertisements. Health for Millions, a non-governmental organization, appealed the 2005 ruling [NYT report] blocking the law’s enforcement after the government decided not to work to have the ruling overturned. The Supreme Court of India reinstated the regulation on Tuesday and criticized the Indian government for failing to act on an issue of “substantial public importance.”

Tuesday’s decision came on the same day that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [official website] released a study [text, PDF] on menthol cigarettes, prompting speculation that such products may be banned [NYT report] in the US. In 2012 a new protocol to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which India has signed, was approved [JURIST report]. In October 2012 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev proposed legislation [JURIST report] that would ban tobacco advertisements and public smoking and raise taxes on tobacco products.